Computer telephony allows a user to control, from their networked computer terminal, telephony activity related to a telephony terminal nominated by the user: typically the telephone on their desk. The kind of telephony activity controlled in this way typically includes the initiation of calls from the telephone and the logging of calls to and from the telephone (i.e. allowing the user to redial outgoing calls or to respond to missed calls).
European patent 1068717 in the name of British Telecommunications plc discloses a method of registering the identity of a communications terminal in association with the identity of a computer terminal, the method comprising the steps of: providing to a user of the computer terminal, via the computer terminal, the identity of a predetermined destination terminal number; answering a call made to the predetermined destination terminal number; receiving at the predetermined destination terminal number the identity of a communications terminal from which the call was made; providing to the user, via the computer terminal, a codeword; receiving, at the predetermined destination terminal, data provided by the user via the telephone terminal; comparing the received data with the provided codeword; and if there is a match, registering the identity of the communications terminal in association with the identity of the computer terminal.
If a user wishes to use the computer-telephony control service from a different computer, e.g. at a hot desk remote from their normal place of work, they need to complete a new CTI registration process from the new computer. This will result in their original registration, based on their normal computer, being revoked. This arrangement is cumbersome and time-consuming in that it requires the user to repeat the complete original registration process any time they wish to use the computer-telephony control service from a different computer and to repeat it again when they return to their normal work computer.
The invention provides a method of initiating, in a call control system, computer-telephony events; in which the call control system comprises a computer-telephony controller and a plurality of communications terminals; in which a computer-telephony event comprises a user operating a computer terminal to control, through the computer-telephony controller, operation of at least one of one of the plurality of communications terminals, in which the method comprises: providing a label value for storing at a first computer terminal; and storing, in a mapping accessible by the computer-telephony controller, the label value together with the identifier of one of the plurality of communications terminals; the computer-telephony controller receiving from the first computer terminal a request for a computer-telephony event; in which the request comprises the label value; the computer-telephony controller retrieving the identifier of the communications terminal from the mapping; and initiating the requested computer-telephony event to control operation of the communications terminal; the computer-telephony controller receiving from a second computer terminal a request for the label value; and providing to the second computer terminal the requested label value; the computer-telephony controller receiving from the second computer terminal a request for a computer-telephony event; in which the request comprises the label value; the computer-telephony controller retrieving the identifier of the communications terminal from the mapping; and initiating the requested computer telephony event to control operation of the communications terminal.
According to an aspect of the invention, the label value is associated with one of an individual user, a group of users and a type of user, in which the one of the individual user, the group of user and the type of user associated with the label value is authorised to control the at least one of the plurality of phones.
According to an aspect of the invention, the method further comprises providing the computer terminal with a list of communication terminal identifiers to which the label value has previously been mapped; and allowing re-establishment of a previous mapping. According to a further aspect of the invention, the second mapping overwrites the first mapping.
According to an aspect of the invention, the method further comprises receiving from the computer terminal a mapping change request and creating, in response to the mapping change request, a second mapping accessible by the computer-telephony controller in which the label value is mapped to an identifier of a second communications terminal while leaving unchanged the label value stored at the computer terminal.
The invention further provides a call control system for initiating computer-telephony events; in which a computer-telephony event comprises a user operating a computer terminal to control, through a computer-telephony controller, operation of at least one of one of a plurality of communications terminals, in which the system comprises a computer-telephony controller and a plurality of communications terminals; in which the call control system comprises a store accessible by the computer-telephony controller, for storing a mapping between a label value and an identifier of one of a plurality of communications terminals; in which the computer-telephony controller comprises a first interface for receiving from a first computer terminal a request for a first computer-telephony event; in which the computer-telephony controller comprises a processor configured to receive through the first interface from the first computer terminal the request for a first computer-telephony event in which the request comprises the label value; to apply the label value to the mapping to retrieve from the store the identifier of the communications terminal; and to initiate the requested first computer-telephony event to control operation of the communications terminal; in which the computer-telephony controller comprises a second interlace for receiving from a second computer terminal a request for the label value and a request for a second computer-telephony event; in which the computer-telephony controller processor is configured to receive through the second interface from the second computer terminal the request for the label value; and to provide the label value to the second computer terminal; in which the computer-telephony controller processor is configured to receive through the second interface from the second computer terminal the request for a second computer-telephony event in which the request comprises the label value; to apply the label value to the mapping to retrieve the identifier of the communications terminal from the store; and to initiate the requested second computer telephony event to control operation of the communications terminal.